Pneumatic thread holder for weft replenishing looms



Dec. 13, 1949 G. H. UTTER .2,491,142

PNEUMATIC THREAD HOLDER FOR WEFT REPLENISHING' LOOMS Filed Nov. 6, 1948 INVENTOR. GU STAF H. UTTER ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 13, 1949 PNEUMATIC THREAD ,HOLDER ROR 'VVEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Gustar H. Utter, Worcesten ll/lass., assigner :to lCrompton .& Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, iii/lass., .a corporation 0f Massachusetts Application'November 6, 11948,V Serial No. '58,668

6 Claims. 1

utl'lervveftends and in pneumatic lcommunication 'f With a source of;subatmospheric pressures. #Such thread holders-asmade heretofore, however, have shown a tendency to draw -the threads into va bunch 'whichvinterferes with the removal of 7indi- -vidual^threads.

It is an important object-of Athe -presen'tginventionto make 'the thread holder of apiece of sheet metal bentso as to provide athread compartment -atone side of which is -a threadintake-mouth eX- tending through'the sheet metal. One side ofthe mouth is preferably formed with thread separat-.- in g notches between zteeth which are formed 'Qintegrally with the sheet metal.

AReserve bobbins may beplaced inthe-magazines while the pneumatic Asystem is inactive, and under -these conditions the Weft ends -Willloe 'laid `in the weft compartment. rSome "provision should be made, however, so that these weft ends can later be drawn into the intakemouth. 'It is a *further object of the presentinvention'toprovde a .thread holder with a thread compartment having the bottom thereof inclined upwardly andawayfrorn the magazine to a point such thatl threads or weft .ends hangingby their weight on the bottom of ',the

.thread ,compartment will lie across the .mouth in the path of air whichis Vdrawn into thc-latter.

With these and other obj ects, in view which will appear as .thedescription proceeds, theinverition ,resides in the combination and arrangement .of

parts hereinafter described and set ,fQliihn the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, wherein?. convenient embodimentof the inventionws Seihforth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a loompartly inseci 2 1Fig. -4 is Ia horizontal section on line L -4, Fig. 2,-and

Fig. 5 isadiagramrrraticviewshowinga-forrnV of the lblanklf-rom which-the thread holder-is made v'prior to -bending operations.

Referring-more particularly to Fig. lftheloom -frame supports a magazine M which in the *present-,instance is fprovided with fr ont and 'back reserve bobbin-s'B and IB', respectively, which Yfeed downwardly by gravity toward two different 'transfer positions, one for each Vgroup of 'bobbins 4The Wert -ends -W and W which extend vfrom the JoobkiinsliB-and zB convergetoward a thread holder -whichis -designatedherein generally at H.

Thelay H is reciprocatedbackwardly and for.- Wardly-'inusualmanner'and operates a pneumatic pump-#2, Ywhich on its -rearward stroke, 'that is to tthe right as'viewed 4in Fig. 1A, creates a partial vacuum Ior Vsuba'tmospheric pressures within 'hose '|"3't he forward -end of which ispneurnatically connected to ahollow thread collector 'I 4. 4Thelatter has va `tcp "t5-to which the hose `l 3 isattached and has-also'abo'ttom orhase I6 connected as at 'Il 'to a `bracket i8 which is -supported'by a stand l9.se cured "to `the ,"loom frame.

Ylhelagyfhas a shuttle `box 20 tohold a shuttlejS which when exhausted of weft receives afresh bobbin -fromthe*magazinethrough operation of ,a Atransferrerarm 2'I. 'The magazine'is pivoted on a lpivot stud 22 and 'is vconnectedby a rod 23 to a lever *214 which 'is yconnected to anotherrodiz under control of mechanism not shown. Theinaga Zine can'berocked about itscenter to eithervoftwo transfer positions so 'that bObbins .can 'be 'transferred from one or the other of Zthe aforeSaJid transfer positions lWhenever a weft replenishing operation occurs a bobbinmoves. downwardly, from ,themagazine M linto'the shuttle S and ,at the Sametime its weft enjd also descends. Atta subsequenttime `in v`the lloom.operation this thread end is cutadjacent 12o the 010th selvageandshouldbe removed from the 1oomtoiavoid`being drawn :into the warnshed.. .This function is generallyperformedby thermenmatic 'thread holder and thelatter also serves tokeep all ofthe weft .ends taut.

'lhematterthus far describedexcept for the de,- .tai'ls Qfltheiholder H maybeof common construe.- ticn ,and 'operate in the usual manner. The ,inventionis ,notrnecessarilylimitedin its use tothe particular typeof magazine setforth hereinfbut has Ibeen found -satisfactory in `operation with a two-stackrockine magazine- In :carrying :the Lpresent invention `into infecta thread holder is made substantially as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. That part of the holder which engages the weft threads is preferably made of a single piece of sheet metal, such as steel or the like, and designated herein generally at 30. This piece of sheet metal is folded so that it has parallel spaced vertical front and back walls 3| and 32 which are joined at their lower ends by a curved bottom 33 which is inclined upwardly and in a direction away from the magazine, as indicated more particularly in Fig. 3. The upper ends of the side walls are provided with divergent wings 34 and 35 the upper edges 36 of which may if desired be more or less parallel to the bottom 33.

An aperture 4D is struck in the sheet metal piece 30, more particularly the rear wall 32 thereof, and is formed with serrations or teeth 4| which provide thread receiving notches or recesses 42. The teeth are integral with the sheet metal and always maintain the same relation with respect to the inner and outer edges 43 and 44 of the -walls 3| and 32 and also the bottom 33.

.bear the relationship with respect to each other ,such as that shown in Fig. 3. The thread notches, which are arranged along the side 41 'of mouth 4i) remote from point 45, are p-referably in a substantially straight line and extend both above and below the level of point 45. A line drawn from point 45 perpendicular to the serrated edge 41 will fall between the ends of edge 41 whatever the angular position of the thread holder. The reason for this relationship is that whenever weft ends are moved downwardly between the wings 34 and 35, into the thread compartment 46 between the front and back wall 3| and 32, said threads will be supported by the upper end or' the bottom 33 in such position that they will extendvacross the intake mouth and be drawn into the latter by subatmospheric pressures created by the pump I2.

Secured to the rear wall 32, preferably by brazing or welding, is a collar 53 having a set screw 5| tapped thereinto. A preferably metallic tube 52 ts into the collar 50 anu the latter-and the holder are held in adjusted angular position by the set screw 5|. The tube. 52 extends into the base I6 and may be held therein in any approved manner, as by a holding screw 53. The interior 54 of tube 52 is in pneumatic communication of thevinterior of the thread co1- lector |4, so that whenever subatmospheric pres'- sures exist within the thread collector a column of air will be moved into the thread intake mouth or aperture 40.

. In ordinary use the thread holder will be more or less in the position shown in Fig. 3 with the notches 42 in vertical alignment, but under some conditions of loom operation it may be desirable to change the angle of the line of notches, and this adjustment can be accomplished by means of the set screw 5 I. Whenever this adjustment is made there will be a corresponding change in the elevation of the upper end 45 of the bottom 33. If, for instance, the thread holder is turned in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 the recesses or notches 42 will be arranged in a line extending upwardly and to the right, and there will be a corresponding lowering of the point 45. Such a change will be made to accommodate threads which may come down to the thread holder at a comparatively steep angle, but when this adjustment is made the point 45 will be so located that the threads will be drawn across the aperture 46. The downward inclination of the bottom 33 permits a considerable amount of angular adjustment around the axis of the tube 5U without interference with the weft ends or threads.

Fig. 5 shows the blank of sheet metal piece 30 before any of its bending operations have been performed. This blank is generally V-shaped with wide sides, and has the mouth 40 punched therethrough with the teeth 4| and notches 42 substantially parallel to one of the edges 43, but this is not a necessary relation although it is desirable. The blank is bent on itself along its vertical axis a to form the bottom 33, and then the wings are spread by bends along lines b. The blank shown in Fig. 5 may be struck out in a single operation, after which burrs and sharp edges are removed in any approved manner from the edges of the blank and also from the teeth 4|.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth a simple form of pneumatic thread holder made of a single sheet of metal as suggested in Figs. 2 and 3 and having struck vintegral therewith the teeth 4| which define the notches 42. In the forming operation the bottom 33 is made inclined as shown in Fig. 3 and the Lipper end of the bottom as determined by point 45 will be located on a line perpendicular to edge 4l. The purpose of having several notches is to permit a distribution of the various weft ends W and W' so that they will not all collect in one corner of the aperture, a condition which might interfere with the removal of a thread at the bottom of a group of threads. It will further be seen that the collar 5U is permanently fastened to the wall 32 in such a way as to prevent leakage of air and is fastened to the tube 52 by means which permit angular adjustment of the holder with respect to the tube.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specic disclosure may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the in- Vention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a tubular member in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a sheet metal member bent on itself to form two spaced walls between which is located a thread compartment, one'of said walls having a thread receiving aperture along one side of which are located teeth integral with the sheet metal member and defining thread receiving notches, and means securing the sheet metal member to said tubular member.

2. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom provided with a pneumatic thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tubular member supported by and communicating pneumatically with the interior of the collector, a sheet metal member supported by said tubular member and bent on itself to provide spaced walls forming a thread compartment, one of said walls having an aperture therein communicating with the interior of said tubular member, and teeth integral with said sheet metal member defining thread receiving notches along one side of said aperture.

3. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom provided with a pneumatic thread collector in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a tubular member supported by and communicating pneumatically with the interior of the collector, a sheet metal member bent on itself to form spaced Walls joined at their lower ends by a bottom for the thread holder which is inclined upwardly and away from the reserve bobbins, one of said walls having an aperture therein extending above and below the level of the upper end of said bottom, teeth formed integral with said one wall having thread receiving notches therebetween located at the side of said aperture remote from said upper end of said bottom, and means mounting said sheet metal member on said tubular member with the interior of the latter communicating with said aperture and through the latter with said thread compartment.

4. A sheet metal member for a pneumatic thread holder, said member being formed from a iiat V-shaped piece of metal bent on itself around the vertical axis thereof so that the sides of the V-shaped piece are parallel to and spaced from each other to form walls, one of said walls having a thread receiving aperture therein one side of which is formed with teeth integral with said piece of metal and defining thread receiving notches.

5. A sheet metal member for a pneumatic thread holder, said member being formed from a flat V-shaped piece of metal bent on itself around the vertical axis thereof so that the sides from each other to form walls and are connected by a bottom which causes the lower ends of said walls to be inclined with respect to the sides of the walls, one of said walls having an aperture therein the side of which remote from the upper end of said bottom is provided with thread notches formed by teeth integral with said one wall.

6. In a pneumatic thread holder for the weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a tubular member in which subatmospheric pressures exist, a sheet metal member bent on itself to form two spaced walls between which is located a thread compartment, one of said walls having a thread receiving aperture along one side of which are located teeth integral with the sheet metal member and defining thread receiving notches, a collar secured to said one wall surrounding part of said tubular member, and means securing said collar to said tubular member.

GUSTAF H. UTTER.

REFERENCES yCITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Turner May 31, 1949 Number 

